BP ends abysmal year with dividend

LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- BP, one of Europe's largest oil majors, said Tuesday it would resume paying a dividend to shareholders after one of the worst years in the company's history.

The company, which as headquarters in London, reported an overall net loss of $3.7 billion for 2010, the first full-year loss in nearly two decades. The result was due mainly to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst in U.S. history. At the same time, it posted upbeat fourth-quarter numbers, saying its net income was $5.6 billion, up from $4.3 billion during the same period in 2009.

BP announced it would reinstate the dividend for the final quarter of 2010, after having suspended it during the first nine months of the year. BP will pay 7 cents a share, half the level before the gulf accident, which killed 11 workers and could cost the company up to $30 billion in cleanup and damage payments.

"2010 will rightly be remembered for the tragic accident and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and it's clear that as a result BP is a company in transition," BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a statement. "I am determined that we will emerge from this episode as a company that is safer, stronger, more sustainable, more trusted and also more valuable."

For this year, Dudley wants to "reset the company, adjusting the shape of our business, and focus on growing value for shareholders," he said.

BP has already sold more than $20 billion worth of assets and on Tuesday said it would try to sell two refineries in the United States, in Texas and California. Last month, BP said it had signed a joint venture with Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, to develop the Arctic's vast oil and gas fields.

Nick MacGregor, an oil analyst from British stockbrokers Redmayne Bentley, said the recent announcements highlight BP's changing corporate strategy – which is increasingly favoring the upstream sector, getting oil out of the ground.

"By refocusing away from aging, lower-profitability refineries and by looking east in its deal with Rosneft, BP really is now starting to show its cards to investors how it sees its picture," MacGregor told the BBC.

European competitor Royal Dutch Shell is to report earnings Thursday. The world's largest oil firm, Exxon Mobil, Monday said it earned $9.25 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, its highest quarterly profit in two years.